Rafe Kovich and Alison Barrington
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Rafe Kovich and Alison Barrington Kovich were a popular couple on the American soap opera Port Charles. Rafe was played by Brian Gaskill and Alison was played by Erin Hershey Presley. The couple of Port Charles was dubbed "Rali" by their fans and they were one of the most popular romantic pairings on the short-lived soap. The couple is often referred by the portmanteau "Rali" (for Rafe and Alison) on internet message boards.
[edit] Storyline
Ironically, the characters of Rafe Kovich and Alison Barrington were not intended to be paired together, as Rafe was a dead vampire slayer and Alison was already involved in a popular romantic relationship with boyfriend, Jamal Woods. Storylines kept throwing the characters together, however, and the two fell deeply in love and gained overwhelming support by viewers.
One major obstacle that stood in the way of their true love was the fact that Rafe was an angel who was only sent back to Earth to complete a mission. However, in order for this pairing to work, Rafe had to become human, a task that was nearly impossible, seeing as how Rafe had died many years ago. In an exchange made with a "devil," Rafe was allowed to return to Earth to be with Alison. But there was a twist. Rafe's memory was wiped out and he had no memory of Alison, and if he did not fall in love with her within a certain amount of time, he would have to give up his soul. When Rafe returned to Port Charles, he had his memories restored up until the time of his death. He had no idea that he was an angel.
Livvie Locke, Alison's former best friend, took advantage of the amnesiac when she found him. She convinced him that they were lovers and that they had plans to marry. But Rafe began having flashes of a blonde woman with whom he believed he shared a connection with. This was, of course, Alison.
Meanwhile, Alison was being hospitalized after a collapse due to an aneurysm. When Rafe stumbled upon her in the hospital room, he recognized her from his dreams. He impulsively kissed the comatose Alison, waking her up. Alison was shocked, however, to realize that Rafe had no memory of their relationship and that he believed he was engaged to Livvie.
When Livvie realized that Rafe was starting to remember Alison, she slept with another man and became pregnant. She told Rafe they were expecting a child. However, a confrontation with Alison caused Livvie to fall down a flight of stairs. Though Livvie's fall was accidental, she blamed Alison. Rafe, believing that Alison had tried to break him and Livvie up, told Alison to stay away from them. Soon after, Livvie had a miscarriage. This devastated Rafe.
But the connection between Rafe and Alison proved to be stronger than Livvie's manipulative ways. Rafe found himself falling in love with Alison, despite his devotion to Livvie. Alison explained that they had been together before Livvie interfered, and they were very much in love. Rafe contemplated everything Alison had told him and confronted Livvie. She accused Alison of being jealous and that everything she said was lies.
Unconvinced, Rafe decided to continue his friendship with Alison and finally declared his love for her. With his task accomplished, Rafe regained his memory, just as Livvie arrived to find the couple in an embrace. Aiming a gun at the two of them, Livvie was crazed with anger. Rafe pushed Alison away as Livvie shot the gun, and was fatally wounded.
Depressed about losing her true love yet again, Alison decided to leave town. As the train she was riding on took off, she saw a figure outside her window. It was Rafe, running after her.
It turns out that Rafe's father, who was also an angel, took pity on the tragic couple and allowed his son to return to Earth for good.
After their joyous reunion, obstacles abounded for Rafe and Alison. An avatar tormented Port Charles until Rafe was able to defeat it. Even more problems were caused when vampire and Rafe's enemy, Caleb Morley, returned to Port Charles. The two continued to try and destroy each other, but learned they couldn't because it would disturb the balance of good and evil on Earth. Unable to beat each other, Rafe and Caleb, who had a romantic relationship with Alison's nemesis Livvie, were forced to co-exist in the small town.
Further troubles were caused when Caleb, despite his relationship with Livvie, seduced Alison in an effort to get to Rafe. Devastated by what she had done, Alison realized her greatest fear could come true. She could lose Rafe forever. However, despite her worries, he felt she had to tell Rafe the truth. The soulmates eventually married not knowing that Alison was pregnant with Caleb's baby.
